The Los Angeles Chargers need to explore their options at the trade deadline.
Joe Hortiz, to this point, has publicly projected that the organization will stand pat. Perhaps there's hope for major turnaround in the building, and the front office as a whole feels that cutting back this roster in any significant form could put their jobs in jeopardy—especially if the season goes any further off the rails.
But the Chargers have already lost any hope they had of postseason play this season. It's likely that Hortiz's unwillingness to field calls, as reported by multiple insiders, is just public posturing at this point. If Los Angeles can't amass at least some additional draft capital while re-positioning this roster for competitiveness next season, that will be an abject failure on their part at the Nov. 10 deadline.
There are options, especially on expiring deals, that Los Angeles could move relatively easily. A Khalil Mack trade would be a painful pill to swallow—but it's a move the Chargers owe their veteran if he wants to pursue a ring elsewhere before retirement. Pieces like Donte Jackson, Denzel Perryman, and David Njoku should provide less serious conundrums, assuming teams have any interest in taking them on.
Dalvin Tomlinson, who signed a one-year deal with Los Angeles this offseason, also falls into that category. But given the fact that he was brought in to provide the optionality of a nose tackle for Chris O'Leary's run defense, Los Angeles may be better simply hanging onto him and seeing how he continues to mesh in this scheme.
Dalvin Tomlinson is an extension candidate—if the Chargers feel he's worthy of a place along O'Leary's defensive line
Now, Tomlinson may certainly be a one-year rental. After losing Poona Ford to the Los Angeles Rams in free agency prior to 2025, the Chargers simply decided to roll with a mixture of their existing defensive tackles, including Teair Tart and Jamaree Caldwell, at the nose tackle spot when the scheme required it. If Tomlinson proves to be expendable over the remainder of the season, perhaps that's the route they choose to take again.
But O'Leary has proven himself, at the very least, as being worth of filling Jesse Minter's shoes going forward. Unless the Chargers clean house entirely this offseason, this defense feels as though it's O'Leary's ship to run moving forward. And if he feels as though a nose tackle provides him with more flexibility along the interior defensive line, especially when it comes to deploying pieces like Tart, Caldwell, and Justin Eboigbe, then Los Angeles will likely be willing to employ one moving forward.
Tomlinson isn't a star defender for the Chargers. He's posted just eight combined tackles and three pressures across four games this season, and his consistency against the run (along with the unit as a whole) has been sub-par over Los Angeles' past two outings.
He's a solid gap-stuffer, though, on a $6.5 million deal. If the Chargers wanted to bring him back at a similar number next season, they'd likely be able to do so. He also has shown ample upside playing away from the nose tackle position and lining up wider, which is something O'Leary wanted to place an emphasis on prior to the start of the season.
There will be other nose tackle options in free agency this offseason. Veteran defender Grover Stewart's contract with the Indianapolis Colts will expire, and Davon Hamilton of the Jacksonville Jaguars if having somewhat of a resurgent campaign in the final year of his deal. Both players, though, will likely command upwards of $10 million annually on the open market, which is more than Los Angeles will be looking to pay given their flexibility along the defensive line.
It's still, at least theoretically, a route the Chargers could take—especially if they could net a sixth-round selection for Tomlinson's contract between now and the deadline.
But Tomlinson, at the very least, has a chance to be a solution at the position for the Chargers. He's played well in this scheme so far, and it's unlikely that teams will be scrambling to add him before the deadline. Hanging onto him for the rest of the season, as long as it doesn't come at a significant opportunity cost, would give Los Angeles a chance to evaluate what it looks like to have a true nose tackle available in O'Leary's scheme.
Even if Tomlinson doesn't return in free agency, the Chargers are likely better off hanging onto him for the remainder of the season—even if it's just for the purpose of seeing what he can do over a fuller sample size.
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